Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

146 Lawmakers Press HHS To Roll Back Nursing Home Rules

Last year, federal officials implemented the first stage of new rules to improve care that won praise from advocates for residents. But the industry has complained that the regulations go too far. Also, in Kansas, the high use of anti-psychotics among nursing home residents is raising concerns, and in one county in Maryland nursing homes are working to make Asians feel their care is culturally sensitive.

Kansas City Star:
Kansas Nursing Homes Have ‘Become Far Too Dependent’ On Mind-Altering Meds
Anti-psychotics are contraindicated for people with dementia and include a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning that they increase the risk of falls, stroke and other potentially fatal side effects. The federal government started tracking the off-label use of such medications in nursing homes in 2011. Since then, Kansas has always ranked at or near the top in percentage of medicated residents, suggesting there are thousands of residents in the state’s certified nursing facilities who have been given drugs that aren’t medically indicated for them, and could actually harm them. (Marso and Ryan, 11/26)

The Baltimore Sun:
Columbia Nursing Home Makes Elder Koreans Feel At Home
In Howard County, 16.2 percent of the population is Asian, including 4.2 percent who are Korean, according to 2015 U.S. Census estimates. That’s up 33 percent since 2010, when Asians made up 13.3 percent of the population. ... While there are religion-based retirement communities — think Catholic or Lutheran homes — nursing care is often less culturally focused. But more facilities are adapting to the nation’s growing ethnic diversity, hiring multilingual staff, serving multi-ethnic foods and in some cases devoting whole floors to one culture. The focus on culture and ethnicity is an example of how nursing homes are looking at innovative ways to better better serve the communities where they are located, those in the nursing home industry said. (McDaniels, 11/24)

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